IF YOU GO

The third Neighbor to Neighbor Town Hall will address the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing and the possibility of toxic emissions from the process.

Fracking is the process where a mix of water, sand and chemicals is flushed into a brittle shale formation, allowing the hydrocarbons trapped in it to be produced.

The Neighbor to Neighbor Town Hall meetings are designed to give people a place to hear and discuss different sides of various issues surfacing around the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom that is thundering through the Crossroads.

In this meeting, Katherine Martin, a petroleum engineer, will explain the horizontal drilling and fracking process being used to release the oil and natural gas in shale formations across the country. Martin has served as an adviser to the city of Dallas Task Force, an organization created to develop regulations for the oil and gas industry in the Barnett Shale.

Ramon Valdez, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund Texas office, specializes in air quality issues related to chemical industries. Valdez will be a co-presenter.

Sharon Wilson, representative of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, became interested in environment and health concerns related to fracking after a well was drilled near her home to frack the Barnett Shale formation. Wilson will present her views on fracking at Saturday's meeting.

The meeting is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Cuero Municipal Park Clubhouse, 212 E. Main St., Cuero.